INDIANAPOLIS — UPDATE: As of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, AES Indiana said there are currently 520 customers without power.
According to the company, power has been restored to 99% of customers impacted by Friday's severe weather. AES Indiana expects full restoration by Tuesday evening.
After three days in the dark, many AES Indiana customers have power.
Remnants of Hurricane Helene knocked out power to thousands of Hoosiers early Friday evening.
Aaron Jenkins and his wife got creative to pass the time, using things like a battery-operated light.
"Three AA batteries and I survived three days on that. Of course, I had my trusty flashlight, brought me some nice, fancy candles and you got to have your music," Jenkins said.
It was all part of his survival kit, along with using his grill to cook and even his vehicle to charge his cellphone.
Downed tree branches were still visible in an alley where many of his west Indianapolis neighbors used to park behind their homes.
The day after the storm, AES Indiana reported more than 30,000 customers without power. By midnight Monday, Sept. 30, less than 1,900 were left in the dark.
"With it being thousands out (of power), you can only do what you can do. And you got to start somewhere, but everyone wants to be first, so that's why a lot of people get frustrated. They think, 'Me, me, me. Can you get mine on before you get thousands of others on?'" Jenkins said.
Jenkins said his power came back on around 4 a.m. Monday.
Just a short distance away, 13News spotted crews from South Bend helping to clear tree limbs off of power lines near 21st Street and Lafayette Road.
Neighbors were also coming up with creative ways to deal with a lack of power.
"Like showers, we have our gas tank, and we have kind of like a stove. Our water is cold because our heater was out as well. So we boil our water and then just shower with like buckets of water," Yuleydi Ramirec said.
Ramirec said having the right tools, like a generator, helped the family get through.
"I'm ready for the lights to be back. Yeah, I do miss showering with hot water," Ramirec said.
Around 4 p.m. Monday, that became a reality for Ramirec and her family.
Jenkins said he appreciates all the hard work crews are doing to help Hoosiers get back to normal.
"I would have loved to come out here and shook their hands and give them a big hug and say thank you," Jenkins said.
The cleanup is far from over.
Indy DPW told 13News there were about 200 downed trees reported due to the storm. They plan to have crews working 12-hour shifts over the next several days to clear debris.
Jenkins also sent his thoughts to those in the south dealing with Hurricane Helene's impact.
"After you see what's going on in Florida and Ashville, you think, 'Well, my problem is nothing compared to them because they're flooded out of their homes,'" Jenkins said.
Officials deemed Hurricane Helene the worst storm in U.S. history, with at least 132 deaths reported in six southeastern states.
Outage continues for some
For over two days, Mike Gardner has been without power at his home near Holliday Park on Indianapolis' north side.
"We just flat out, just lost power. We heard the transformer blow. And then, I realized quickly that when the tree fell, (it) took the wires down and yanked my power line right off my roof," Gardner said.
On Sunday, Sept. 29, he was finally able to get out in the yard, starting to clean everything up all the damage from Hurricane Helene's remnant storms here in central Indiana.
Gardner and his wife had friends in from out of town, so they had to make it work.
"We've got a decent room in the back that's got a lot of windows so we can sit and visit when we get up the morning, my RV's got a little generator, so I made a pot of coffee," Gardner said.
One of the trees that fell took power lines with it. Gardner doesn't want to touch it until he can talk to the AES, but that's proven to be a challenge.
"One of my frustrations is we just get put on hold, and if you go to their website, they say, if you have power lines down, call. Well, those have gone nowhere," Gardner said.
Most of his neighbors are still without power, too.
"We have been running candles at night, charging our devices at the library and at different places," neighbor Monique Candle said.
Candle works from home with her husband, so now, they are left with making a plan to start the work week.
"We've got our hotspots and working through that," Candle said.
RELATED: Death toll rises from Helene while supplies are rushed to North Carolina and Florida digs out
Despite the countless hours without power, neighbors are trying to stay positive.
"You got to kind of be thankful for the things that are working. Since I know, certainly in western North Carolina and lots of other places in the country, that it really have been so much worse," Candle said.